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https://theconversation.com/ugandas-boda-boda-drivers-the-digital-economy-hasnt-been-the-route-to-formal-work-and-better-protection-research-270993>
"Digital labour platforms – like fast food delivery and cab hailing services –
are having a dramatic impact on people’s labour rights and working conditions
around the world.
In western countries like the UK and the US, their rise has intensified a
process of labour casualisation already several decades in the making. Under
the guise of “flexibility”, platforms have heralded a return to insecure,
temporary forms of employment that offer few rights or benefits to workers.
But in “less developed” countries like Uganda, the growth of the digital gig
economy is often considered a boon. Across the global south, it has been
claimed that platforms are not only creating millions of new jobs, but they are
actually helping to
formalise an informal economy so vast it accounts for an
estimated 70% of total employment in low- and middle-income countries.
Existing research suggests that by guiding informal workers towards compliance
with registration and licensing requirements or making them more visible to
state authorities, digital labour platforms are capable of “counteracting
informal economic activity”.
But is it all as straightforward as it seems?
In a new research paper I put this claim to the test through a case study of
moto-taxi work in the Ugandan capital city, Kampala.
Moto-taxi (or boda boda) work is a hugely important source of income in Uganda,
providing livelihoods for an estimated 350,000 people in the capital alone.
Over the past decade, ride-hail platforms have descended upon this vast
industry, claiming to offer safer, better paid work and a step towards
formality.
Drawing on 112 interviews, 370 driver surveys and scans of relevant media, my
research reaches a different conclusion. Despite shifting online, digital
moto-taxi drivers remain as they always were – informal workers in an
unprotected labour market.
This raises fundamental questions about the capacity of digital labour
platforms to bring about positive transformations in the global informal
economy."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
